Comelec allots P1.64 billion for automated poll system

MANILA, Philippines — A budget of P1.64 billion has been set for the procurement of the transmission system for the midterm elections in 2025.

The Commission on Elections special bids and awards committee announced that the procurement of the secure electronic transmission services has an approved budget of P1,638,501,499.40 for the contract. The procurement project shall include the provision of data centers and connectivity requirements for the automated election system servers.

The committee said the Comelec is now inviting bids for the project that will be used to transmit election results using telecommunication networks.

 According to Comelec, the bids that exceed the approved budget for the contract shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Bidding documents may be purchased for P75,000 at the Comelec secretariat office in Intramuros, Manila from Monday to Friday. A pre-bid conference has been set on Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. at Palacio del Gobernador, also in Intramuros, Manila.

The deadline for the submission of bids is on Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. The opening of bids is set later in the day.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia previously reported that the commission decided to “unbundle” or separate the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count or FASTrAC project from the transmission system for the 2025 polls.

Voter registration to resume

Meanwhile, those who want to register and participate in the May 2025 national and local elections are advised to download and accomplish forms early.

“In order to make the registration process easier, you can download the application form, print it on a long bond paper, and accomplish it with complete and correct information,” Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said yesterday.

Laudiangco issued the reminder as the voter registration period is set to resume on Feb. 12.

According to Laudiangco, filling up the registration forms in advance hastens the application process.

“This way, when you go to the voter registration site, you don’t need to fill up the form there. It will just undergo checking from the interviewer,” Laudiangco noted.

He said the applicant would only need to submit biometrics data once the application form is completed and correctly accomplished.

“If the information is correct, the applicant can proceed to the oath-taking and have their picture, biometrics and signature taken immediately,” Laudiangco added.

The voter registration will run until Sept. 30.